ECL Software Blog

Banks Looking for Ways to Make Mobile Banking Pay

Rather than passing expenses on to clients, consider fund control software improvements that will help you save on operational costs.

For years, banks have been searching for ways to make money off of mobile banking. Today’s consumers demand this service, but considering that mobile banking app development projects can cost up to $5 million, banks are reluctant to admit that customer retention will be the only way to recoup this investment.

One obvious way to monetize mobile banking is to charge fees. The results of a recent smartphone banking app user survey by SNL Financial seems to confirm the idea that fees for mobile banking would be tolerated by at least some consumers:

• 24 percent of consumers were willing to pay $3 per month for access to a mobile banking app
• Consumers age 26-35 more likely to accept fees than seniors (32 percent vs 17 percent)
• Bank of America customers most likely to accept a fee (33 percent)
• Capital One customers least likely to accept a fee (18 percent)

Some banks are already successfully charging fees for certain specific mobile banking features. For example, US Bank has been charging 50 cents per mobile check deposit since 2010, yet 29 percent of their surveyed customers still reported they would be willing to pay an additional $3 per month for mobile banking.

With this evidence in mind, the question on many bankers’ minds is no longer can we charge fees for mobile banking, but should we charge fees?

Many experts say no. They argue that offering mobile banking already delivers significant financial benefits to banks. One big benefit is the reduced demand for in-person banking services, which enables banks to cut staff and payroll expenses. Another benefit may be increased profitability from customers who go mobile. According to Citi Consumer Banking, customers who went mobile at their bank increased their deposit balances, decreased their attrition, and showed an overall increase in profitability for the bank compared to customers who had identical profiles but stuck with traditional banking.

Another Way to Improve the Bottom Line at Your Bank

If you are grappling with the question of whether or not to charge mobile banking fees at your bank, we urge you to also consider other options that can help improve your business’ profitability. Adopting new fund control software for your Construction lending activities is an excellent option.

At ECL Software, we offer a robust fund control software solution for your construction projects that can deliver tremendous financial benefits. First of all, our software suite is a single entry system, which helps save your employees time on data entry tasks while also improving the accuracy of construction loan process. Secondly, our software allows for extremely detailed oversight of individual loans and loan sectors, so you can keep a close eye on your portfolio and respond quickly to any situations that may threaten your position.

If you would like to learn more about how our fund control software can help you save time, improve accuracy, and better manage risk in your lending activities, please contact us now for a free online demo.